Knowt is a good app. It's the most popular free Quizlet replacement for a reason: it imports your sets, makes cards from your PDFs and keeps a usable free plan. So if you're looking for a Knowt alternative, it's usually because you've hit one of two walls.
The first is the AI limit. Knowt's free plan caps how much AI you can use each month, and unlimited AI chat is on its paid Ultra plan.
The second is more interesting. You've realised flashcards aren't the whole job. Cards are great for "what is X". Most exams, especially from second year on, ask "why does X happen" and "what would you do about X". You can't flashcard your way to that.
Which alternative makes sense depends on which wall you hit.
If you hit the AI limit
Quizlet
The biggest library of shared decks anywhere. Its AI generation is on Quizlet Plus (around US$7.99 a month or US$35.99 a year at the time of writing), which is cheaper than Knowt Ultra if AI is what you're paying for. Quizlet vs Knowt in detail.
Anki
No AI at all, but no limits either. Free on desktop and Android, with the best spaced repetition there is. Pair it with any card generator and you'll never hit a cap. Quizlet vs Anki.
RemNote
Notes and flashcards in one place: you write notes and turn lines into cards as you go. Pro is about US$8 a month billed yearly, with AI on a higher tier.
If you need more than cards
The Study Mill
This is the one I build, and it's aimed squarely at the second wall. You upload a week's slides, PDF, notes or a lecture recording, and instead of a deck you get a study session:
- Short lessons that explain each idea with an analogy and a real-world example
- Flashcards for the bits that really are memorisation
- A quiz that mixes multiple choice with questions you answer in your own words, marked by AI (it rewards the right idea, not the exact wording)
- Walk & Learn, which teaches the week back to you as audio and asks you questions out loud
- A tutor you can ask when something doesn't click
It's organised by class and week, so by week nine you still know where things are. It's free for 2 classes; Pro adds unlimited classes, exam mode and cram sheets for A$7.99 a month, half price with a .edu email.
The downside: no shared library. It only studies what you give it.
NotebookLM
Free, and excellent for understanding a hard reading by asking it questions. It doesn't test you, so use it to learn something and something else to remember it. NotebookLM and the fluency trap.
Quick comparison
| Good for | Written-answer practice | AI limits on free | Free plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quizlet | Shared decks | No | Most AI is paid | Yes, capped |
| Anki | Long-term memory | No | No AI | Full |
| RemNote | Notes plus cards | No | AI is paid | Yes |
| The Study Mill | Studying your own lectures | Yes, marked | Within 2 classes | 2 classes |
| NotebookLM | Understanding readings | No | Generous | Yes |
A simple way to decide
Look at last semester's exam, or a past paper. Count how many marks were for definitions and how many were for explaining, comparing or applying.
- Mostly definitions: stay with Knowt, or move to Anki if you want it to stick for years.
- Mostly explaining: you need practice writing answers, not just flipping cards. That's where The Study Mill, or old-fashioned past papers, will move your mark.
Try it on one lecture
Upload one week and see what you get compared to a deck. Free, about a minute, no card needed.
Competitor pricing and features are from third-party reviews in October 2026 and change often. Check each app's own pricing page.
